2000
#7,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,324
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.60
Rare Last name
Winger
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold wings for arrows or other projectiles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,667 Americans carry the last name Winger. That puts it at #7,815 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,442 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winger surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Winger with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.7K
1 in 73,442
Census rank
#7,815
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,070 bearers of the surname Winger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7815th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winger
The surname Winger is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "winger," which referred to a vineyard worker or winemaker. This occupation-based surname first emerged in the 12th century in the wine-producing regions of southwestern Germany.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval German records and documents, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Wormatiensis from the 13th century, which mentions a "Conradus Winger" in 1272.
As the name spread across German-speaking regions, variations in spelling emerged, including Winger, Wyngert, Wingert, and Wingerter. Some of these variations may have been influenced by local dialects or place names associated with vineyards or wine production.
One notable historical figure bearing the Winger surname was Johann Winger (1522-1599), a German theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in the Palatinate region of Germany.
Another prominent individual was Maximilian Winger (1588-1647), a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg, known for his religious works and portraits of nobility.
In the 17th century, the name Winger appeared in the records of German immigrants to North America, including Johann Peter Winger (1655-1723), who settled in Pennsylvania and became a prominent landowner and farmer.
Moving into the 18th century, Johann Georg Winger (1726-1798) was a German composer and organist from Nuremberg, known for his contributions to sacred and instrumental music.
During the 19th century, Johann Adam Winger (1801-1870), a German-American farmer and vintner, established one of the earliest commercial vineyards in Missouri, contributing to the growth of the wine industry in the Midwest.
These examples illustrate the historical significance of the Winger surname, rooted in the wine-making traditions of Germany and later carried across the Atlantic by German immigrants to North America.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winger
Among Census respondents with the surname Winger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Winger bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Winger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 3,673
- Two or more races3.6% · 148
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 142
- Black or African American1.7% · 71
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winger
Winger appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,650
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,342
+18 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 523 places
2020
#7,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,070
-272 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 165 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,127 | 4,324 | 1.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,650 | 4,342 | 1.47 | +18 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 523 places |
| 2020 | #7,815 | 4,070 | 1.36 | -272 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 165 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Winger surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,650 | #7,815 | -2.2% |
| Count | 4,342 | 4,070 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.47 | 1.36 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winger bearers went from 4,342 to 4,070 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 165 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,650 to #7,815.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Winger
FAQ
Winger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,667 living Americans carry the surname Winger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,442 residents.
How common is Winger?
Winger ranks #7,815 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,070 people with the surname Winger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,667), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Winger.
Has Winger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winger went from 4,342 recorded bearers to 4,070. That is a decrease of 272 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,650 to #7,815.
What does the Census say about the background of Winger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winger, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Winger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (3,673 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Winger (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Winger mean?
An occupational surname for a person who made or sold wings for arrows or other projectiles. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Winger (1.36 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Winger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.